With over 20 years of experience covering the Steelers for the Observer-Reporter, Dale Lolley will let you know the insider scoop. Dale can also be heard on the Steelers radio network pre-game show on WDVE-FM game days and Tuesday nights from 6 to 8 p.m. on ESPN 970-AM and WDVE during the season as a host of the Antonio Brown Show. Follow him on Twitter at @dlolleyor

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Blame Cowher

Sometimes a coach just thinks he’s smarter than everyone else and he wants to show them so as often as possible.

That’s the only explanation for Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher continuing to send Ricardo Colclough back for punt returns in the team’s 28-20 loss to Cincinnati Sunday.

What in Colclough’s history has suggested he is a good punt returner?

Every time the Steelers had tried him back there in the past, Colclough had mishandled punts.

Seemingly every practice at training camp was punctuated by Colclough mishandling a punt.

Last week at Jacksonville Colclough had a punt jump out of his hands before he reeled it back in. And he also mishandled one in the opener against Miami.

Yet there was Colclough back there to return a critical fourth-quarter punt against the Bengals.

What did Colclough do?

What he’s always done.

That’s why I don’t blame Colclough for muffing a punt that the Bengals recovered at the Pittsburgh nine yard line. You don’t blame a lion for attacking a water buffalo. He’s just doing what lions do.

Cowher should shoulder all of the blame in this instance. He made the decision to put Colclough back there.

I’m not going to say Willie Reid would have made a difference in this game. But he certainly didn’t muff any punts during training camp.

But we still haven’t seen Reid during the regular season because he’s been inactive for the first three games.

If Cowher says having Reid active comes down to numbers on game day, that’s fine.

But that doesn’t explain why Santonio Holmes wasn’t back there instead of Colclough. At worst, Holmes would have just allowed the punt to bounce and the Steelers would have taken over the ball deep in their own territory instead of Cincinnati doing so.

Part of the reason is that they are being forced to leave their feet to make catches and are dropping the ball on contact with a defender. These guys are professionals, though, and should be expected to come up with more of those than they drop.

Through three games, the Steelers’ leading receiver is running back Verron Haynes, who has 10 catches for 59 yards.

That speaks volumes about how badly the passing game is struggling.

Through two games, Roethlisberger is completing less than 50 percent of his passes and his passer rating is 34.3. There were even a smattering of boos at times after some of his poorer throws.

If Roethlisberger has any doubts about how quickly fortunes can change for quarterbacks in Pittsburgh, he can give Kordell Stewart a call.

If I’m the Bengals, when I look at the film of this game, I’m hoping that the second meeting with the Steelers in the final week of the season is meaningless.

If the Steelers are pushing the big man around like this now, what are they going to do to him in the second meeting?

Certainly getting middle linebacker Odell Thurman back will help Cincinnati’s run defense. But Adams looked old and fat Sunday, which is fine if you’re watching the game from the couch or press box, but not all that impressive if you’re being asked to catch Willie Parker.